


Golden Girl

by TeamGwenee



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: (Ex) Roomates AU, F/M, Fluff, Modern AU, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:13:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25517077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamGwenee/pseuds/TeamGwenee
Summary: When Jaime sees Brienne again, years after they last crossed paths, there's no bitter sweetness. He's just happy to see her.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, Past Jaime Lannister/Cersei Lannister
Comments: 11
Kudos: 123





	Golden Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Something that just popped into my head whilst listening to Spandau Ballet. Hope you enjoy! :)

Jaime knew his new flat was much smaller than his last one. The posh flat with four bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and oak floors, glass windows taking up entire walls overlooking the Blackwater. Brienne had only been there once, awed by the grandeur of flat, and the life Jaime had built with Cersei.

She was a homely girl back then. A blush constantly burning beneath her freckles. Shoulders slumped. Blonde hair limp and straggly. Seeing her standing hunched amongst Jaime’s designer furniture, picked out with care by Cersei, Jaime was consciously aware of how out of place she looked. Back in their tiny flat in Harrenhal, with the broken down sofa and the tv you had to whack every twenty minutes when the signal scrambled, her shapeless jumpers and thrift store jeans had belonged. Just as part of home as the crocheted pink and green blanket Selwyn had sent them as a house warming gift. 

Brienne had been as part of his life then as seven am coffees at Hot Pie's on the way to Catelyn Stark’s morning history lecture, jogging together through the misty parks, cramming in their revision notes before exams. Brienne stripping his bed sheets off him whenever he slept in, Jaime bullying her into her bed whenever she was up to two am studying. Brothers at arms. Partners in crime. 

At his Blackwater flat, she fit like a mushroom in a vase of roses. 

She had come to the city on a small getaway, and Jaime had been excited to welcome her to his new home. They hadn’t seen each other since graduation, two months ago, and after three years living together, two months felt like a decade. But introducing her to Cersei was like watching two worlds collide, like his scary new boss meeting the friend he mud wrestled with. They settled down to wine and salmon and Cersei subjected Brienne to her barbed tongue in that way of hers. Brienne turned quiet, never hitting back the way she did with Jaime. She squirmed in her seat, eyes shifting to Jaime, as though waiting for him to say something. To call fight back on her behalf or call Cersei out. Jaime grew embarrassed, and irritated and ashamed. With Brienne or Cersei or himself? He couldn’t tell.

They hugged as she left, and he kissed her cheek and they made promises to meet each other again soon.

They didn’t see each other again for four years.

There were Christmas cards and Birthday cards and he friended her on Facebook, but what they were had slipped through their fingers. It seemed better to let it go, than drag it out to an ugly finish. End on a high. 

But he kept track of her. Of course he did. There was a time when she was all over the news, and just seeing her face flash up on his scream brought a cheek splitting smile to his face.

Jaime knew the smile was there as he welcomed Brienne to his new home, almost goofy. Dorky. He caught sight of himself on his tv screen. He didn’t have the heart to turn it down. Let her see how happy he was to see her. Far from Cersei, from the flat with the view and the designer furniture and clothes and the life that just didn’t fit.

Brienne stood taller now, not just because the ceiling was so low. Her black coat was smart, and her blonde hair fuller and cut in a flattering bob. It wasn’t a Cinderella transformation, but she no longer looked apologetic for her existence, regretful in her own skin. He remembered watching her on the news footage, emerging from the smoke and flames with the weeping child in her arms, kicking down the flaming door with her foot. Zero fatalities. Even the pet goldfish got out.

The entire nation had watched the news coverage of the Crossing Care Home Fire, and the image of Brienne, so proud, so fearless as she carried the children to safety, became iconic.

“You look good,” Jaime said lamely, clearing a pile of magazines from the armchair. “Sorry about the mess.”

Brienne smiled, still slightly awkward. Slightly anxious. Well, it still had been many years since they had seen each other and it was still Brienne. Becoming a national hero didn’t change her that much.

“It was a bit short notice,” Brienne admitted, “Perhaps I shouldn’t have...”

“No,” Jaime said quickly. “You are always welcome here. Do you want a drink? I got in pineapple juice. Like the old days. That’s still your favourite, right?”

Brienne let a small laugh. “You remembered?”

Jaime shrugged, stepping round his awkwardly shoved-in couch that was too big for the tiny living room. “I’m still living out of boxes so it will be mugs.”

“That’s fine,” Brienne assured him. “How long are you planning on settling here?” She caught herself. “That is, if you are planning on settling here.”

Jaime bit his lip, fixing his eyes on the juice carton as he poured. “Yeah, I’m planning on settling. The flat, it’s mine. No rental. I wanted somewhere permanent. And this, well, it suits me.”

Brienne hovered in the archway leading to the kitchen. “I’m sorry to hear about you and Cersei,” she said gently.

Jaime shrugged. The divorce, it hadn’t been clean. It got ugly at times, but no uglier than their marriage had been by the end. The further he got from King’s Landing, the easier it got to breathe.

“It’s, well, it’s water under the bridge now. I’m happy, really. And bloody relieved to put it all behind me,” he assured her, coming back into the living room. He beamed at her. “And the Riverlands holds happy memories for me.”

Brienne ducked her head, but Jaime saw the smile tugging at her lips.

“Plus,” Jaime added, wih a rakish rise of an eyebrow, “Considering how I was able to drink out on being _your_ friend even back in King’s Landing, just think how many rounds knowing you will get me in the Riverlands. RFD’s golden girl.”

“Oh,” Brienne said with a self-deprecating laugh. “That.”

“Yes,” Jaime confirmed. “That.”

In fact, he had it somewhere….

Jaime rootled around his bookcase, before producing the screenshotted newspaper article, which he kept paperclipped to his picture of himself and Brienne at the beach on holiday in Tarth. “See,” he told her. “Just took this to the pub with me. For the first couple of weeks after the news report I didn’t even bother bringing my wallet with me. And even after, I carried it around, just so I got to tell everyone that _I know this girl. We were roomates.”_

And there. There was her blush. Not the flaming red of when she was hurt or embarrassed. A light pink tinge, pretty. And her eyes glowed. Jaime decided to turn it up a notch, bring out a deeper shade of pink.

“I’m so proud of you,” he said sincerely. “I truly am.” 

He put down his mug and stepped forward, taking Brienne’s hand. “Seeing the person you’ve become, what you’ve achieved. Truly, it makes me feel so lucky, to have known you. To have called you my friend.”

Brienne laughed again, only just peeking up at Jaime through her pale eyelashes. “I only came to offer to help with the unpacking,” she said bashfully. 

Jaime’s beam widened. “If you want to, I will be eternally in your debt.”

Brienne reached for the nearest box. “I remember you used to be crap at getting your stuff organised.”

Jaime grimaced playfully. “I can honestly say I’ve grown a great deal since those days, but that has sadly remained unchanged.”

“And what do you say, when we’re done, we go to the Boat and Boulder?” Brienne asked. “My treat.”

“Is that still open?” Jaime asked in delight. “Alright, I’ll take you up on that. But I will pay.”

“Oh don’t,” Brienne said quickly. “You see, you might not get a free ride knowing me, but being me certainly gets me one.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave it to you to not pay,” Jaime chuckled. “Only this time we won’t be dining and ditching.”

“We never did that!” Brienne protested.

“Not to your knowledge,” Jaime admitted, breaking into guffaws at Brienne’s horrified face.

“Oh Jaime,” she admonished in that voice of hers, all righteous indignation battling with horrified fondness. 

“Right then!” Jaime said, clapping his hands. “Let’s see if we can get these boxes done by Happy Hour. I intend to celebrate my homecoming to the fullest.”

Brienne paused, her smile growing soft at his words. “Homecoming?” she repeated.

“That’s right,” Jaime said with a nod. “King’s Landing, that life, all the parties and the net working and boot-licking. Something my father wanted and Cersei wanted and what I was told I wanted. It was just a costume, a boy trying to be a man. This place, being here. This is where I’m meant to be. This is coming home.” 


End file.
